Staggering to try to contemplate what a staggering loss something like this is, then remember that it happens day in, day out all around this country.

If the *main political issue* raised by my constituents on the doorstep was the chronic, intolerable traffic congestion on the streets of my inner London seat, I would make it a priority to *learn about the causes of & effective remedies to congestion*
which emphatically do not include road building

For those interested in what the TfL and DfT traffic count data says, we compiled this here for ease of reference

This 👇

Nobody is disputing that Putney has a horrible traffic problem. The issue here is that actually doing something about this chronic congestion requires *measures to curb car use*, which demands much more political bravery than blaming someone else, somewhere else, for not spending £100s of millions

Putney’s traffic woes are not caused by Hammersmith Bridge closing to cars, and cannot be solved by reopening it to cars. But it does make a very convenient get-out-of-jail-free-card to use on constituents living with 24-7 traffic blight, without having to expend any political capital on honesty

🤷‍♂️

Fleur Anderson MP is still pretending that traffic is up on Putney Bridge because the Hammersmith Bridge closed to motor traffic in 2019. She’s just said “traffic on Putney Bridge increased by 16% between 2020 and 2023”.

Hmm, what was happening in 2020, I forget 🧐

Woman charged over Westminster collision A woman has been charged with attempted murder following a serious collision in Westminster.

🚨 #pedestrians #roads #London

😡 a woman in her 30’s in a life-threatening condition, man in his 50s has life-changing injuries, a third woman, in her 30s, treated for minor injuries😡

@londonls.bsky.social @wandsworthls.bsky.social @carolinerussell.bsky.social

news.met.police.uk/news/woman-c...

Picture of street filled with people when cars are prohibited, with a prominent sign saying “road closed.” Via Urban Truth Collecrive (Also, it’s a street, not a road)

How come they keep spelling “open” wrong?

Does that street look closed to you? Only if you’re a car… and presumably that’s the real problem. #UrbanTruth

The kerbside where the white SUV is should have a parking bay suspension.

If you want to make streets absolutely deadly for primary school children, this is how you do it #nosightlines @solveschoolrun.bsky.social @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social @wandsworthls.bsky.social @tomflood.bsky.social @bricycle.bsky.social

Also to be seen at #Wandsworth Town station.
Excludes many cyclists, for reasons rehearsed in replies! @wandsworthcycling.bsky.social
#ActiveTravel #cycling

Public toilets are vital for human dignity. And clean streets.

Here's a sub 8 minute video featuring our @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social explaining just how easy it is to deal with vehicle crossings correctly.

youtu.be/oHDwgtCPiKU?...

*Driver.

For most people, being behind the wheel of a car is the time we are most easily able to maim and kill other people, and also the time we are most likely to get away with it, whatever the circumstances.

1/

The classic example of this is trying to fix potholes but never asking what causes potholes and might the fourth power law have something to do with it

What appears to be happening is that highways engineers are not working from first principles and then deciding the appropriate action. They are being reactive when they need to be proactive. Have they asked what is the purpose of a way?

The perfect illustration of why these types of initiatives are a waste of time. We did several school ‘speedwatch’ days etc. & as soon as you leave more cars are speeding. Pointless. All roads in a whole area outside schools should be fully filtered school streets.

A group of primary school children wearing hi vis vests, and accompanied by a couple of parking wardens, standing on the pavement outside a school. There are zigzags painted on the road the denote No Parking because of the pedestrian crossing which is just behind the camera. The children are holding signs.

A car parked on the pavement outside a school, less than 20 metres from where the children were standing yesterday. It is just outside the zigzag zone, but there are double yellow lines and the car is almost entirely on the pavement. The school entrance is just behind.

School drop-off.

Thursday: kids out with the traffic wardens, with nice signs asking parents not to park dangerously.

Friday: parents parking on the pavement outside school.

The "Ridiculous" Traffic Plan That Actually Worked YouTube video by Streetscapes

If you are a Councillor, please watch this.

It happened nearly 50 years ago in the Netherlands. The arguments against restricting traffic were the same as those made today and were proven to be wrong.

Many cities would greatly benefit from a circulation plan.

youtu.be/bgKokpZMFnU?...

This is our moment, we're on the cusp of a BIG win for pedestrians in England We know pavement parking is not only an irritation for many, but outrightly dangerous to wheelchair users, visually impaired people and parents walking their children to school. Write to your MP toda...

Pavement parking is dangerous to wheelchair users, visually impaired people and parents walking their children to school. Write to your MP telling them to vote on a crucial Gvt amendment to reclaim pavements for pedestrians.

@livingstreets.bsky.social‬
act.livingstreets.org.uk/page/189938/...

Attempted murder arrest after car hits pedestrians on Argyll Street The incident took place in central London in the early hours, leaving a woman in a critical condition.

Ah, the BBC's good old "...after CAR hits pedestrians" headline approach with a driver not mentioned until the 3rd paragraph 😣
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

*Driver

Graham Road, Mitcham, where all the pavements have been replaced with tarmac, sloped for off-street parking, flat in between.

Merton Council's contractor Conways did this street a few years back, replacing all the paving slabs with sloping tarmac.
As one resident told me "if you're walking home, you now need one leg longer than the other"
There's lots of other streets across Merton that are similar.

Politicians should be looking for alternatives to enable a light form of public transport across it, not let it get smashed up by cars again.

Hammersmith Bridge is not closed if anybody is reading.

It's closed to motor vehicles (for which it was never built for), but you can walk wheel or cycle across it.

The closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles has created much safer conditions for walking and cycling across a huge area of Hammersmith and Barnes and resulted in fewer vehicles on all West London bridges including Putney and Chiswick.

Keep it closed to cars forever.

Vision zero takes account of everyone being capable of making mistakes, and the system takes account of that so a mistake by a child crossing a road or by someone driving along it does not result in death or injury. Hence road rules like speed limits.

💯 this 👇

“If you invite more cars, you get more cars. If you make more streets better for cars you get more traffic...If you invite people to walk more and use public spaces more, you get more life in the city. You get what you invite.” - Jan Gehl